East Asian Languages & Literatures Ph.D.

Combined Ph.D. Program in Film
Calendar of Progress
Qualifying Examination for the Ph.D Degree
Current Graduate Students

Fields of Study
Fields include the general areas of Chinese literature and Japanese literature. (See also the Combined Ph.D Program in Film Studies.) Although the primary emphasis is on these East Asian subjects, the department welcomes applicants who are seeking to integrate their interests in Chinese or Japanese literature with interdisciplinary studies in such fields as history, history of art, linguistics, religious studies, comparative literature, film studies, literary theory and criticism, and the social sciences. For a profile of this and other programs at the Graduate School, including admissions data, total enrollment, time to degree, and career data, please click here.

Graduate Faculty (12)
Professors: Kang-i Sun Chang, Edward Kamens, Tina Lu, Haun Saussy, John Whittier Treat. Associate Professors: Aaron Gerow, Christopher Hill. Assistant Professors: Paize Keulemans, Jing Tsu. Senior Lectors: Seungja Choi, Koichi Hiroe, Zhengguo Kang, Ninghui Liang, Yoshiko Maruyama, Ling Mu, Michiaki Murata, Hiroyo Nishimura, Masahiko Seto, Angela Lee-Smith, Mari Stever, Wei Su, Peisong Xu, William Zhou. Lectors: Hsiu-hsien Chan, Min Chen, Rongzhen Li, Fan Liu, Yukie Mammoto, Yu-lin Saussy, Jianhua Shen, Haiwen Wang.

Students
In residence 15-20; average in entering class 3-4.

Special Admissions Requirements
The department requires entering students in Chinese or Japanese (and the Combined Ph.D Program in Film Studies) to have completed at least three years, or the equivalent, of either Chinese or Japanese. Students applying in Chinese are expected to have completed at least one year of literary Chinese. Students applying in premodern Japanese are expected to have completed at least one year of literary Japanese. This is a doctoral program; no students are admitted for Masters' degrees.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
During the first three years of study, students are required to take at least fourteen term courses. Usually students complete twelve term courses in years one and two, and then take two tutorials or two seminars in year three. Students concentrating in Chinese or Japanese literature are encouraged to take at least one term course in Western literature or literary theory. By the end of the second year all students must prove their proficiency in a language other than their primary language of study that is relevant to their course of study and is approved by the DGS. By the end of the third year, students specializing in premodern Japanese literature must pass a reading test in literary Chinese. At the end of the second full academic year, the student must take a written examination in the language of his or her specialization, including both its modern and premodern forms.

At the end of each academic year, until a student is admitted to candidacy, a faculty committee will review the student's progress. For the second year review, the student must submit a revised seminar research paper, on a topic selected in consultation with the adviser, no later than April 1 of the fourth term. No later than the end of the sixth term the student will take the qualifying oral examination. The exam will cover three fields distinguished by period and/or genre in one or more East Asian national literatures or in other fields closely related to the student's developing specialization. These fields and accompanying reading lists will be selected in consultation with the examiners and the director of graduate studies in order to allow the student to demonstrate knowledge and command of a range of topics. After having successfully passed the qualifying oral examination, students will be required to submit a dissertation prospectus to the department for approval by October 1st of the seventh term in order to complete the process of admission to candidacy for the Ph.D.

Opportunities to obtain experience in teaching language and literature form an important part of this program. Students in East Asian Languages and Literatures normally teach in their third and fourth years in the Graduate School.

For additional detailed information see Calendar of Progress.

Combined Ph.D. Program
The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures also offers, in conjunction with the Program in Film Studies, a combined Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures and Film Studies. Applicants to the combined program must indicate on their application that they are applying both to Film Studies and to East Asian Languages and Literatures. All documentation within the application should include this information. For detailed information see Combined Ph.D. Degree Program Between Film Studies and East Asian Languages and Literatures.

Director of Graduate Studies
Tina Lu
HGS 304
(203) 432-7529

Mailing Address
PO Box 208236
New Haven CT
06520-8236

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